The victory at Midway was the turning point of World War II. The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle, widely regarded as the most important one of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. This video clip is courtesy of The History Channel.

Two years after American medical researcher Jonas Salk reported that he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, polio vaccinations were still not widely available in the United States. To assuage the public's concerns, President Eisenhower holds a press conference on May 4, 1955, and explains the need for further testing.

In November 1958, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev demanded that Western forces pull out of West Berlin in six months. On March 16, 1959, in a radio and television report to the American people, President Eisenhower speaks of the escalating Cold War tensions over Berlin, stressing that the United States will not give in to pressure from the USSR.

In October 1956, Britain and France entered into a coalition with Israel, and the three nations launched a military attack against Egyptian forces in the Suez Canal. On October 31, in a speech to the nation, President Eisenhower expresses the United States' opposition to the military action.

Eight months after Alaska became a U.S. state, President Eisenhower signs the official proclamation on August 21, 1959, admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state and delivers a welcoming speech.

On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over central Russia. As a result, the Paris Summit Conference, scheduled 13 days later, collapsed. Upon his return from the failed conference on May 20, President Eisenhower addresses the welcoming crowd at Andrews Air Force Base.

On September 15, 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, promising an open heart and good intentions, began an unprecedented tour of the United States. President Eisenhower expresses his hopes upon Khrushchev's arrival for improved relations between the two superpowers.

On January 17, 1961, in a national broadcast, Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks to the American people for the last time as president and famously warns about the growing influence of the "military-industrial complex."